Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez charged that “unconditional” U.S. military aid to Israel “enabled a genocide in Gaza,” reviving debate over Democratic foreign policy at a global summit.
The New York Democrat made the remarks while attending the Munich Security Conference, where she fielded a question about whether a future president should revisit American military support for Israel.
She argued the issue goes beyond campaign politics and cuts to U.S. legal obligations.
“This isn’t just about a presidential election,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “Personally, the United States has an obligation to uphold its own laws, particularly Leahy laws.
AOC says the Gaza Genocide was preventable if the USA followed its own foreign policy Laws.
She says any military aide to any nation should be conditioned. pic.twitter.com/dkIOqWBxOb
— Winter (@LeftyWinter) February 13, 2026
“And I think that, personally, that the idea of completely unconditional aid, no matter what one does, does not make sense,” she continued.
“I think it enabled a genocide in Gaza, and I think that we have thousands of women and children dead that was completely avoidable.”
She pointed to the Leahy laws, which bar the Department of Defense and the State Department from funding foreign security units when credible information shows “gross violations of human rights.”
The laws trace back to legislation introduced in 1997 by former Sen. Patrick Leahy.
“And so I believe that enforcement of our own laws through the Leahy laws, which requires conditioning aid in any circumstance, when you see gross human rights violations, is appropriate,” she added.
Her comments placed fresh attention on the Biden administration’s approach to Israel’s war with Hamas, which followed deadly boat strikes carried out by the Trump administration in the Caribbean.
Ocasio-Cortez framed her critique as a broader call for accountability under existing statutes.
During a panel discussion in Munich, she expanded her focus to American leadership and the global order.
She accused President Donald Trump of weakening alliances and democratic norms.
“We are seeing our presidential administration tear apart the transatlantic partnership, rip up every democratic norm,” Ocasio-Cortez charged.
She told the audience that many Democrats traveled to Munich to signal engagement with allies rather than retreat.
“One of the reasons why not just myself, but … many Democrats that are here as well, is because we want to tell a larger story, that what is happening is indeed very grave, and we are in a new era, domestically and globally,” she said.
Ocasio-Cortez urged what she described as a return to a rules-based order while criticizing what she called Western inconsistencies.
She referenced Trump’s threats regarding Greenland and made an apparent nod to his capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
“I think many of us are here to say we are here, and we are ready for the next chapter, not to have the world turn to isolation, but to deepen our partnership … and increase our commitment to integrity to our values,” she said.
Her appearance overseas comes amid speculation about her future political ambitions.
During one session, a moderator pressed her on whether a presidential campaign might include a wealth tax.
“When you run for president, are you going to impose a wealth tax or a billionaire’s tax?” the moderator asked.
AOC says she thinks there should be a wealth tax now.
She couldn’t be more wrong.
Abolish all income taxes.
Keep sales tax only.pic.twitter.com/NHqNF0ZEoq
— Paul A. Szypula 🇺🇸 (@Bubblebathgirl) February 13, 2026
Ocasio-Cortez laughed before responding, “We don’t have to wait for any one president to impose a wealth tax… That needs to be done expeditiously.”
She argued that extreme income inequality fuels instability and empowers authoritarian movements.
“In democracies, we have elected leaders. And in massive corporations that then begin to consume the public sector, gobble up the spending, they start to call the shots,” she stated.
“And we’re starting to see this with some of the billionaire class throwing their weight around in domestic politics and in global politics as well.”
She warned that failing to deliver for working-class Americans would deepen political unrest.
“It is of the utmost urgency that we get our economic houses in order and deliver material gains for the working class. Otherwise, we will fall into a more isolated world governed by authoritarians who also do not deliver to working people.”
At a second forum, Ocasio-Cortez described the United States as operating from a weaker position than in years past.
“The United States is very much in a compromised position compared to where we were five years ago. Our relationships with our allies are strained,” she remarked.
“Our commitment and demonstrated consistency on democratic values and human rights are also incredibly strained.”
The New York progressive advocated revisiting U.S. commitments to international aid while warning against withdrawal from global institutions.
“They are looking to withdraw the U.S. from the entire world so that we can turn into an age of authoritarianism, of authoritarians that can carve up the world, where Donald Trump can command the Western Hemisphere and Latin America as his personal sandbox, where [Russian President Vladimir] Putin can saber-rattle around Europe and try to bully around our allies there,” she sniped.
“It is our global alliances that can be a hard stop against authoritarian consolidation of power, particularly in the installation of regional puppet governments,” Ocasio-Cortez added.
During the same panel, a moderator pressed her on Taiwan policy and whether the United States should commit troops if China moved against the island, which caused her to falter.
“Would and should the U.S. actually commit U.S. troops to defend Taiwan if China were to move?” she was asked.
WATCH: AOC becomes stuttering mess when asked a simple question
Q: “Would and should the U.S. actually commit U.S. troops to defend Taiwan?”
AOC: “Um you know I think that uh this such a uh you know I think that this is um. This is of course uhh a very longstanding uh policy…” pic.twitter.com/akm1ZlNDSH
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) February 13, 2026
“Uhm, you know, I think that this is … such a .. you know, I think that … this is a uhm…. this is of course a uh, a very longstanding policy of the United States,” Ocasio-Cortez haltingly replied.
“And, I think what we are hoping for is that we want to make sure we never get to that point.”
“And, we want to make sure that we are moving in all of our economic research and our global positions to avoid any such confrontation, and for that question to even arise,” she continued.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom also attended the conference and used the platform to criticize Trump.
“Donald Trump is temporary,” Newsom said, adding, “He’ll be gone in three years.” He argued the president is “doubling down on stupid” on climate policy.
“Never in the history of the United States of America has there been a more destructive president than the current occupant of the White House in Washington, D.C.,” he declared.
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